The huge success of Black Panther at the box office was a welcome surprise to moviegoers that have long been bored of seeing the same sort of stories and characters on the big-screen and were eager for greater diversity and representation in cinema.

Mark Ruffalo was one such moviegoer. I recently had the chance to speak to the Oscar nominee about “Avengers: Infinity War,” in which he reprises his role as the Hulk. During our conversation I turned the topic to “Black Panther” and what the Marvel Cinematic Universe can learn from its $1.3 billion gross, which easily made it the highest grossing origin story in the franchise.

“Diversity. Diversity. Diversify,” was Ruffalo’s emphatic response, before he then said of films and franchises that are yet to embrace representation, “I think the writing is on the wall there. And it has been for some time.”

Ruffalo then used this opportunity to heap praise on the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its past films, insisting that their output has always had a deeper resonance.

“What has been interesting about Marvel is that they have been keyed into the the zeitgeist of the moment. Almost all of their movies have a social-political message that is appropriate for the times that we are living in.”

“The human brain is hard-wired to mythology. And it accepts very, very easily and quickly those stories, and I do feel like that this has become this modern mythology where we are working out these bigger issues through fantastical means that are really, really accessible to people.”

Marvel continues to have success after success after success, too. “Avengers: Infinity War’s“ $641 million gross means that it recorded the highest opening weekend haul in movie history, and it is now likely to become the most successful entry to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“Avengers 4” will more than likely rival that amount when it is released on May 3, 2019, though.